Port Authority brings in former executives to discuss reforms

Samson refuses questions; demonstrators picket outside

Mar. 20, 2014

David Samson, chairman of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, walks out out of the board of commissioners monthly meeting after excusing himself, Wednesday, March 19, 2014, in Jersey City, N.J. Protesters were present during the session calling for chairman David Samson to resign. Samson has been at the center of questions over potential conflicts of interest involving his law firm. The mayor of Hoboken has alleged she was pressured by people in Gov. Chris Christie's administration to approve a development project tied to Samson's firm. Published reports have raised questions over a $1-a-year lease given to New Jersey Transit, another agency Samson's firm has represented. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) / AP

Written by

Larry Higgs | @APPLarry

JERSEY CITY — With demonstrators picketing outside and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s board discussing rule changes that seemed aimed at him, Chairman David Samson recused himself and left the meeting without taking questions from the media.

Samson, who has been under increasing scrutiny as a result of the George Washington Bridge lane-closure probe, invoked a new rule that was instituted that morning to recuse himself from voting during Wednesday’s Board of Commissioners meeting.

In leaving, he missed several speakers calling for his resignation, including the Bergen County Board of Freeholders, which asked all five New Jersey commissioners to step down.

“There are a number of items on the agenda I formally recused myself from voting on and will not participate in any discussion,” Samson said at the start of the board’s public meeting. Samson turned control of the meeting over to Vice Chairman Scott Rechler and left.

Questions weren’t answered about New York Times reports that U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman’s office issued subpoenas last week for records on two bridge contracts that Samson voted to award to companies represented by his law firm. Executive Director Patrick Foye declined to confirm that subpoenas were issued.

The contracts authorized spending $1.5 billion to replace and maintain the Goethals Bridge and $1.3 billion to raise the Bayonne Bridge, a process that Foye said was “open and honest.”

Earlier in the day, Samson participated in several committee meetings, including an oversight committee that agreed on a policy that a commissioner should leave the meeting room after recusing themselves to avoid influencing discussions. Neither Samson or the committee addressed accusations against him.

The oversight committee also decided to invite a panel of former authority executives and Princeton political science professor Jameson W. Doig to debate how to reform how the board does business. No date has been selected for that discussion.

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During the meeting, Samson voiced concerns that panel members may still have a relationship with the authority and said the panel shouldn’t replace a governance consultant

Authority commissioner David S. Steiner of New Jersey came to Samson’s defense during the meeting, saying that no one tried to influence his vote.

“To see what is going on in the press makes me sick,” Steiner said. “I have never been approached by anyone on the board to cast a vote for something or to sway my vote. I’ll testify to it. There is no substance to it.”

Before the meeting, demonstrators from the New Jersey Working Families Alliance picketed Port Authority offices, calling on Samson to resign. The alliance filed a formal ethics complaint against Samson two weeks ago, alleging that he failed to recuse himself from voting on authority matters that benefited clients of his private law firm, Wolff & Samson.

“We’re calling attention to the various instances where the chairman was in violation of conflict-of-interest laws,” said Amalilia Mejia, alliance executive director. “We think he should resign and Gov. Christie shouldn’t stand behind someone who was in violation of conflict-of-interest laws.”

After Samson recused himself and left, Bergen County Freeholder James J. Tedesco III delivered resolutions from the board calling on Samson and four other New Jersey Port Authority Commissioners to resign over the closing of three lanes from Fort Lee to the George Washington Bridge in September. The official reasons given for closing those lanes was for a traffic study, but emails between Port Authority officials and Gov. Chris Christie’s former chief of staff Bridget Anne Kelly have raised questions whether the lanes were closed as political payback for the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee failing to endorse Christie’s re-election bid.

Tedesco also demanded a “bill of rights” for communities that host Port Authority facilities.

“I propose a host community bill of rights to overcome the bad blood that exists between host communities and the authority,” Tedesco said, specifically naming Fort Lee, Jersey City and Newark.

During a news conference after the board meeting, Foye declined to discuss reports that he made a statement questioning Samson’s moral ability to lead the agency.

“I will elect to evade the question,” Foye said, adding questions about Samson “should be directed to the individual.”

But neither Samson or other board members, who typically attend the post-meeting question-and-answer session, were present, leaving Foye and deputy director Deborah L. Gramiccioni to field questions. One such question was about the 2011 toll increases that were approved before either joined the agency.

Foye criticized how toll increases were handled but said the board’s vote to award a $1.03 billion contract to replace suspender ropes on the George Washington Bridge as the kind of repair projects the increase is supposed to fund.